# Chapter 6

"You have to understand, Michael, that there are different types of people." - Johnathan Molly was saying while standing besides a computer. He had a program running that lets him draw. He drew three identical blank faces. On the third one he drew a question mark - "The most common people in the mega-structures are quite dumb. They are easy to argue with. That woman that you saw yesterday was one of those. These people take up about eighty percent of the population of the mega-structures. And said *about* eighty percent. So keep your precision to yourself. This number is always changing. And the important part is the overall proportion. Not the actual number. Do you understand?".

Michael looked at the other two faces while Mr. Molly drew the words "Normal 80%" besides the first face. Michael asked - "And who are these two?"

"The second type. More or less, and I repeat, more or less fifteen percent of the population of the mega-struc...". He was cut off by Frank - "At the moment sixteen point thirty five.". Mr. Molly looked angry - "Frank, more or less, do you know what it means?".

"But Dad, fifteen and sixteen and a half..."

"Sixteen point thirty five!" - said Johnathan - "... about sixteen point thirty five percent of people in the mega-structures are Computer Literate. Those people are a lot harder to sell to, but it is still not as hard as the third group of people."

"Crackers" - said Michael. "Not exactly." - answered Johnathan - "Hackers are the third group of people. There is not a lot of difference between the two since most hackers today are crackers. But if we look at the overall picture, there are Hackers that are not doing anything illegal or harmful what so ever. So they are not crackers. Regardless of which, they are extremely smart. They know where to get everything at the cheapest possible price. And if there is a way to get something without paying for it. Believe me, hackers will do it. And no matter how good you will try to sell your paid copy, it will not work on them. But... We want to sell not to hackers, per say, but to normal people, to get the money to buy good stuff. And eighty percent of the population of the mega-structures is more than enough."

"But what if I actually want to argue with a cracker?... Excuse me, Hacker..." - said Michael and brought with it a few moments of silence.

Johnathan came closer to Michael and started talking silently - "If you want to outsmart a hacker, you have to be a hacker yourself. And you have to be much better, much faster, much cleverer than the one you are arguing with. I'm a hacker and you are just a computer literate. When you can argue with me, you can argue with a hacker."

"And Frank is better then you?" - Michael said with a kind of dangerous curiosity.

"What do you mean? The precision of half a percent, is this what bothers you?" - Johnathan looked at Frank - "He has an extreme case of OCD when it comes to numbers. If I'm wrong about statistics more than a half percent, he will not stop, but will repeat his number over and over again until he will eat my brain out. It is not cleverness. It is stubbornness. He didn't stop me about the eighty percent figure only because I was less then a half percent away from the actual, current statistic."

"Eighty point oh one." - said Frank with a serious face.

"Ah..." - started Michael - "So I can outsmart a hacker using stubbornness?"

"If you are in a position from which the other cannot escape, stubbornness alone can be a very dangerous weapon. I cannot just leave my son on the street and walk away from him. Thus he can use his stubbornness on me, sometimes. If I would be a prisoner, a guard could use stubbornness on me. But usually they use brute force. But in a real, free conversation, when you want a person to actually do what you want him to do. By his own action. You cannot use it. Remember what happened to the bold man? You tried to be stubborn and he just left. You need to create a thin, undetectable strategy. You have to be careful. Or you loose your client. We will talk about neurology in arguing later. But for now, remember. People have feelings. And they do not like to feel like they were wrong."

Michael thought about it - "So if I have a gun..."

"A gun!" - said Johnathan furiously - "Violence and intimidation are the lowest forms of prof. Because they do not prove nothing."

"But you said, guards will use brute force."

"Forcibly making person agree with you is not going to make this person agree with you! It will seem like the person agrees with you! Unless of course you damage their psychology enough. The so called Stockholm Syndrome, if you will..." - Johnathan was interrupter again by Michael - "Stockholm Syndrome?". Johnathan started feeling a bit tired. But he didn't show it. "Stockholm Syndrome..." - explain Johnathan - "... is a condition of a victims that develops psychological, friendly or romantic, bonds with who ever kidnapped them, or violently attack them and so on." Michael thought about it to digest. "Oh..." - he said - "...so I will use brute force on somebody, they will think I'm nice?".

"Michael, it's a syndrome. An unusual situation. An anomaly. It's not what's happening when you attack people. Listen! In order for a different person to truly agree with you. And that's what we are trying to do when we are arguing. Not to say that they are agreeing. To actually agree with you. You have to make it so the person will almost arrive at the conclusion you want them to arrive themselves. You help them, you guide the way. But they are the ones thinking. They are the ones deciding. That's when you succeed."

Frank looked at Michael. He leaned over to him and said - "Michael it's about Freedom of speech. Not about power of speech.". Johnathan smiled. He looked at Frank and gave his an affirmative face of respect. Michael was sitting there confused. His thoughts ran through how he could force Neon into looking for the driver without paying him. All this time, Alice was sitting quietly and didn't utter a word.

She was observing him, so he didn't dare look to her direction. Ever since the contest that day, she knew Michael didn't breath straight towards her. For him being her potential partner in future, she observed him. Using her cold, serious stare. "Who is it you want to force? A cracker of some kind?" - she said. Michael now dared to look at her and for a few moments lost ability to speak. The fact that she herself spoke to him relieved him from the necessity of looking away. There was she, still watching him. She continued - "Force is a weapon of the incapable. Capable people use speech, Michael."

"Well, I guess I am incapable."

"I'm trying to fix it." - said Mr. Molly.
